"One zero-one!" The Mayor of Electown shouts, belting out the last few digits of Frame Reinforce.
"Those were the correct lines of coding." You observe proudly. "Well done master."
"Roroho! Knew I could do it student!" The MasterTyrannomon crows slumping back in his gigantic chair. The victorious Ultimate continues chuckling, albeit tiredly. Which isn't something you blame him for, the dinosaur has been chanting non-stop for fifty-seven minutes.
Your teacher yawns, then raises one set of claws up in front of his snout.
"I don't feel any different…roho? You sure that was the right line Verge?"
"Aye, but as I have previously stated, the coding is only part of a spell. One must simultaneously consider the meaning behind each line and link them to the shaped energy. Otherwise it disperses with no effect."
"That's… Ten-damned ridiculous!" He spits, letting out a lick of flame in his frustration. "How's any sane mon supposed to use High-Programming!"
…patience?... Aye, but that would not be an acceptable response
"Determination and practice." You reply, which for some reason causes your teacher to glare.
"Grr. Practice, yeah… what spirits-cursed step is next?"
===
As morning of the month's twelfth day rolls around, you find yourself once again chatting with Fu over breakfast. Once again that consists of basic niceties and a number of questions regarding your time away.
What majorly differs this time is the sudden presence of your Ward charging in with a demanding shout.
"Dadmon! Auntie Fu! Give Xia some too-"
*Bonk*
"-owie…" The *Rookie* slides to a halt, wings rising up to cradle her nose. "What... that for auntie?" You throw a sidieways glance towards Fu, however the Phantomon's attention is focused solely on your ward.
"You should know by now to be be polite." Your ghastly sibling replies, waving one cloth-covered hand in admonishment.
"Okays…" The Vorvomon whines, giving the two of you her very saddest look. "Can… Xia please have some food too? Smells like tasties…"
"That's better." The tiny Ultimate nods, before turning her hooded gaze your way. "This one's a little rambunctious, but you've raised a nice young girl. Fufufu, be proud that your big sis complimented you."
Can I... really claim to have raised her?
"My… thanks." Comes your half-hearted answer.
An aura of worry radiates out from the Phantomon at that, and she sends you a worried look. However her concern runs straight into a wall of blankness. This isn't a matter you wish to discuss at the moment.
Fu actually recognizes that, and bobs in place understandingly. With that she moves on to handing out a bowl of stew to Xia. Watching the *Rookie* sit patiently as if trained is strangely captivating. It's impressive how good Fu is at wrangling mon like her…
If only she was around Thresh when he was growing...
"Thanks for the food Auntie!" Your ward proclaims, before quickly digging into the large bowl of spiced meat and root vegetables. The nicety earns Xia a little pat on the head, which she quickly leans into, cooing between bites.
Zeha… mayhaps she could be the role model Frigimon mentioned.
A few minutes later as your meals finish, Fu excuses herself and heads back to the mansion for work. Leaving Xia to…
"Dadmon! Dadmon!-"
Erk.
"-Play with Xia!" The Vorvomon yaps eagerly, before cocking her head to one side. "Please!" You briefly consider following Fu's example and lightly chastizing her for the demand… however the thought of striking her is revolting.
Rather her exuberance is strangely infectious. You only barely manage to hold back a chuckle.
"If you desire it."
"Xia does! Xia does!" The Vorvomon chirps, wings flapping rapidly enough to give her lift. "Hide and seek!" Your ward pauses briefly to give you a suspicious look. "But no cheating with that… sensing thingy! No fair! No fair!"
"My spirit sense?"
Can I… turn that off? Or ignore it? I'm so used to…
You trail off, looking at the *Rookie's* eager face.
I can make the attempt.
"You're it first! Close eyes and count to sixty! Xia will go hide!" You nod at that, then close your eyes… only to open them one tenth of a second later as your internal count reaches the assigned number.
The wyvern-digimon hasn't even turned fully around.
"H-hey! No cheating Dadmon!'
Rgh.
"I… counted as required… mayhaps I should count to sixty seconds?"
"Yepyep! Good idea Dadmon!"
Very well. One… two… three… focus on not sensing any presence Verge. Using your esoteric senses would be cheating. Four… five… don't listen to her movements either.
Sixty very slow seconds later, you open your eyes to see… an empty field. For a moment your gaze sweeps over the surroundings, looking for any trace of the *Rookie*, but she's hidden well.
The grass she'd previously been standing upon is quickly wriggling and growing, meaning soon there'll be no trace of her presence left. Fortunately your lessons from Galgomon kick in, allowing you to spot the telltale traces of her trail.
You're not exactly great at is, but the burns and displacement of plantmatter from a *Rookie* Xia's size is difficult to miss.
There's three appreciable paths that you manage to pick out leading away from her spot.
First is a long trail leading towards' Frigimon's halfways house, meaning she could be hiding by said building.
However there's also a second line leading away and curving behind you, leading into a path of deep grass.
Lastly is the shortest path, which seems to lead… towards a burrow. One of your old ones in fact, from back when you were a rookie. There's even some fresh digimon marks and displaced dirt, though… that may just be to throw you off.
Hrm, multiple paths. Clever.
===Choose One:
[] Your nose is very powerful, and Xia's distinct scent of molten rock and burning… well everything isn't that difficult to find. Follow her most recent scent.
[] As an Ultimate, and a very powerful one your speed is mangities above Xia's. Scout all the paths and quickly cut her off.
[] Take things slow, explore each path to give your ward more time to think she possesses a chance of hiding from you. Which should hopefully be more fun for her…
=Optional write in:
[] Where does Verge hide in the next round?
===AN: Thanks for reading everyone. Gonna go crash. HAve fun. Night.